AIBU to find it strange how much people are drinking at the moment

[mumof2exhausted]

And more so the almost bragging nature of it on social media? Feel like my Facebook / instagram is full of people showing their wine, beer, expression martinis! I get we are in a strange situation but can’t compute as to how for so many people that’s translated into drinking alcohol every day?? Or maybe it’s just my friends

I'm finding lockdown rather like that week between Christmas and New Year.

I know we are supposed to be getting up and eating at the normal time, getting dressed etc but I'm finding I'm eating a cherry bakewell and lump of cheese for breakfast, and enjoying a glass of Baileys in the evenings. It will all go back to normal at some point.

I think for many, it punctuates the end of the day and start of the evening? Normally we finish work, go home, relax or do something other than work. We're all adjusting to our new normal.

It is bad for you to drink more than 14 units.....

So is being cooped up in your house for prolonged periods. So is looking at an abundance of social media posts. So is eating too much cake. So is not seeing friends and family. So is bleaching or spraying your hands with 70 percent alcohol constantly.

This is an unprecedented and totally shite time. People are just coping....

Hic

Most people aren't being overly defensive because of their alcohol use, it's the typical MN smug failure to consider anyone elses life tone of the OP that got peoples backs up.

Oh it's so strange....

Yes ..and we've also had all those 'it's so strange people are struggling with lockdown, i'm loving it' because they're furloughed with no money worries, have no MH problems, a lovely DH and NT kids living in a nice area in a big house with a massive garden. Soooo much quality family time and baking and yoga and rainbows and joy.

And just couldn't possibly see why it might be hard for someone disabled or living alone or cooped up with an abuser or having caring responsibilities or having lost their jobs and worried about losing their home or feeding their kids.

Liiving in a cramped flat with no outside space and having often privileged MNetters say 'why do you think you're special?' 'you're selfish' because you've admitted taking the kids out for walks more than once a day because it's the only way to keep yourself from breaking down completely.

Some people are drinking more because they have more time and less to do. Some will be because they're stressed to fuck, increasingly depressed and anxious and despite knowing alcohol makes it worse in the long term, it does offer some short-term relief and relaxation which some people are desperately seeking.

And it's OPs failure to consider any of those things that triggered the response.

It seems you can't ask a question or express any concern about levels of alcohol consumption without being accused of being judgey/moral police. I do understand people may be using alcohol as a coping mechanism but that doesn't mean it's not something to monitor. I work with a lot of people in the drugs and alcohol field (scientists/support workers) and they always say, cannabis is not the gateway drug, alcohol is. This is not to mention the impact of alcohol on anxiety/depression.

Pregnant OP is just fed up with her mocktails and I don't blame her

There's a theory over here that, because people don't have anything to look forward to - no holiday, nice meal out, get together with friends, days out etc - they are 'looking forward' to smaller things. A glass of wine, a bar of chocolate, a slab of cake.

It makes life more bearable if you've always got something to get mildly excited about. If that's a large gin or a week in Spain, it's a thought to get you through the day.

Human nature, I guess.

Judging by the number of obese people waddling around I'd say it's too much scoffing that's the biggest health hazard.

I was waiting and you didn't let me down

Mumsnet bingo!

Alcohol and obesity in 1 thread.
Let's all sneer at those awful people to make ourselves feel good.

"'I'm finding lockdown rather like that week between Christmas and New Year."

As the FB meme says "just less chocolate oranges".

I'm not drinking because I'm on a diet
This is after stuffing my face for weeks, because it was better than running through the streets (possibly naked) shouting "we're all going to die".

People will calm down a bit as time goes on. Meanwhile lets leave people to get through it as needs be.

Ita not healthy but I understand completely why it is happening. Someone posted here the other day that they were drinking a bottle of wine a night and very few posters thought it concerning. Drinking alcohol to deal with anxiety is mentioned- which happens - but there also seems to be the view that it's an ok way to manage stress and is perfectly normal.

It's not. Increased alcohol increase is concerning . I speak as someone who is an addict (painkillers) and has had issues with alcohol in the past. Despite knowing this,and advising service users, I'm still drinking 2 drinks an evening

OP you are defo not being unreasonable, it’s absolutely shocking that people do that... expresso martinis are vile, tell her to order a batch of pornstar martinis next time and 20 for me

Don’t want to be accused of posting then never returning to the post! I’m aware I’ve been accused of being a killjoy etc or “thick” as obviously the reason for over drinking is a pandemic. Yes I am pregnant as someone noted (always forget people look at old posts) so obviously not drinking and maybe that has skewed my opinion. But surely people know it’s not great for you to drink (or smoke, or overeat etc etc). There’s a virus attacking well and healthy people as well as the vulnerable, shouldn’t we be trying to improve our health and immune system by looking after ourselves. Also there was a comment that this period is like that week between Christmas and new year. But it’s not a week that’s the whole point, this is a strange new normal for now, it’s not a holiday or a party - it’s likely to be 8 weeks if not more . 2 months of drinking excessively every day can’t be a good idea surely for people’s physical or mental health.

I don't drink but I'm amazed at your question op.
If course people can drink more just now, they aren't bloody going anywhere.

Yanbu I don't drink at all.

So op, if you weren't pregnant with little kids at home too, would you be drinking more?
If I didn't get such horrendous hangovers I know I bloody well would be.

OP there’s whole threads going on about new studies which might show smoking protecting against the virus

No I’m not kidding

Asthmatic here, so it’s not something I can try. But I can’t help laughing at how ironic it is 😂

To be fair, OP did say And more so the almost bragging nature of it on social media? which is a strange kind of cultural thing in a way. The showing off about it like having a glass of wine is something impressive.

Luckily deactivating facebook or even just pressing "unfollow" on those people is very easy, OP.

2 months of drinking excessively every day can’t be a good idea surely for people’s physical or mental health

No, definitely not. But I don't think many are drinking "excessively" or EVERY day.

There are many predictable things in life. One is that in this time of immense uncertainty, when so many have been cut adrift from friends, family, and have lost our usual routines and our other ways to unwind, people are drinking more to wind down and relax at the end of the day. They're looking on the positives of not being allowed to go out and thus not needing to be sober to drive.

Another is that people will make disingenuous, strangely defensive comments on mumsnet denying that there is any potential for anyone whatsoever to develop a dependence on alcohol that will persist after lockdown is lifted.

No. No-one knows that drinking, smoking or over-eating are bad for you OP

Or everyone knows perhaps.

But maybe their priority at the moment isn't to improve their health or fitness to stave off COVID which they may or may not catch and may or may not become very unwell from at some point in the future.

But just to get through their today which is definitely happening and definitely happening right now. And 'today' for many will be pretty fucking stressful and many are literally taking it one day at a time.

There's an awful lot of head tilting faux 'not understanding' at the moment when it's NOT 'not understanding', it is taking the opportunity to be sanctimonious, smug and judgemental.

"You're worried about COVID because you're FAT? Well that's weird, i'd have been worried before, why weren't you worried about being FAT before? its your gross fatness that will kill you, not COVID, how strange one worries you and not the other" .Head tilt.

Also not giving a shit about other lives and how different or harder than yours they may be. "I just don't understand why you'd drink more now when alcohol does bla bla bla" Head tilt.

Chronic MH problems, living alone and struggling with the isolation "but don't you have a 'phone OP? I'm loving not having people pop in all the time intruding on our family time, surely you can just talk to people on the 'phone, it's very easy to keep in touch with friends and family without seeing them". Head tilt.

Ad nauseum.

Yabu if you don’t understand that everyone is different.

Lots of people are also doing exercises for the first time, or missing their gym and doing Joe Wickes style online exercise, some people are deep cleaning or reading a book a day. Plenty of people posting about baking, cooking, playing with their kids etc. Do you have issue with them or are you only pulling on your judgy pants for people drinking?

Stop being a judgemental prick! Everyone is struggling!

"There’s a virus attacking well and healthy people as well as the vulnerable, shouldn’t we be trying to improve our health and immune system by looking after ourselves"

That's not how humans work. We've had our lives turned upside down, but even in countries that live with viruses and insects that can kill them, they don't always strive for optimum health. Statistically speaking the majority of women wouldn't chance childbirth in many countries.

The opposite pov is that we could be dead in months anyway, why not have that drink, extra cake etc?

I haven't seen a single person bragging on social media about drinking to excess every day. Maybe you are just friends with dicks.

I'm not surprised people are drinking more at the moment. In some communities it's a go-to for everything & coping with this shit can mean not the healthiest things. That's life. Some enjoy a glass of wine, some of us spent the morning drinking nearly a litre of chocolate milk for comfort.

I have been surprised how people reacted to medical & health organisations putting out information about alcohol's affects. Like, choose what you want, everything has risks and I get the annoyance when it's individual posts on how we should be getting healthier and so on, but with the reports of significant uptick in alcohol sales in so many countries, the issues with domestic violence and how drug use has been shown to make it worse, and some stories going around about alcohol drinking killing the virus (some tongue in cheek, but with all the quackery going around...), I don't get why people got so vicious at basic medical information about alcohol and suggestions that further restrictions for purchasing might be something to consider for governments. Like, it's fine if they give us the science of social distancing and the UK and US governments get lambasted for not following the WHO and other's recommendations on lockdowns, but the same places say well-known facts that alcohol weakens the immune system and can exasperate feelings of stress, anxiety, depression so we might want to consider limits as individuals and governments might want to consider temporary further restrictions on purchases, and they're called every name under the sun & mocked for 'trying to control everything'. It's weird for me.

@Bibabbles I don't think anyone is getting vicious about 'advice' about how unhealthy excessive alcohol use is.

It's the fact that the people on MN giving the 'advice' assume that people don't already know and the 'advisors' don't seem to understand or care that excessive alcohol use is often a symptom of an underlying health problem and or/stress and/or everything being very unatural at the mo etc and not the cause of their problems.

Hence it's misuse despite people knowing it's bad for them and can cause further problems.

Like the posters telling the obese 'don't you know you're at risk of X, Y or Z?'. They know! but obesity is often a result of an underlying health condition and telling that person 'ooh you really shouldn't do that/eat that' or worse 'I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be slimmer and healthier, especially now' often results not from the 'advisor' wanting to help but seemingly wanting to take the opportunity to make someone feel bad about something they already know is bad for them.

"I don't get why people got so vicious at basic medical information about alcohol and suggestions that further restrictions for purchasing might be something to consider for governments"

Because they don't give a shit about how many people, poverty and a lack of mental health services kill. They don't care about air quality, how many that kills and by coincidence? The areas that have the highest deaths, have the worst air quality. They could invest in transport to alleviate all that. They won't spend on much needed community projects or even our NHS, that saves lives.

So they can do one with any restrictions on our freedom even if they claimed that it was 'in our own best interests'.

For those that want all these restrictions and there's people loving this situation because people are being told what to do, go live in one of the many countries that already have these.

If they cared about us so much, we would have had lick down at the beginning of March.